The Best Brownies in the Universe

This is not an exaggeration. These are the best brownies in the universe, IF you like your brownies chewy on the edges, crisp on the top, and gooey in the centre.

Of course, there are those who say that they don’t like their brownies this way. Such people don’t actually like brownies; let them eat cake!!!!

Cake-y brownies are NOT brownies. They are a travesty.

So go ahead, give this a go, you will not regret it. And it’s a fairly easy recipe too! Thanks to Christina Marsigliese for posting the original recipe. I would recommend using good quality chocolate, as this is the main ingredient in the brownies; I use Callebaut or Valrhona.

Ingredients:

• 85 g butter (I recommend using unsalted, as it is usually better quality butter)
• 142 g bitterswet/semi-sweet baking chocolate

• 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

• 62 g all-purpose flour
• A pinch of salt

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 fahrenheit (about 176 celsius).
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Alternatively, you can do it in a microwave, but be careful not to burn the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted, set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. While the chocolate-butter is melting, cut two pieces of parchment into two strips about 8 inches wide and at-least 14 inches long. Line an 8-inch square pan with the strips of parchment paper at right angles to each other such that they intersect in the middle, like a cross, with a two-inch over-hang on either side of the pan.
4. Beat the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer for about 8 minutes, until pale and fluffy. The egg-sugar mixture should fall back on itself in a gradually disappearing ribbon when you dip a ladle or whisk into it. This step is important as properly dissolving the sugar gives the brownie its wonderful texture. (If you don’t have a stand-mixer, do step 5 first, and then whip up the eggs and sugar mixture in a bowl with an electric hand-held mixer.)
5. While the chocolate is cooling and the egg-sugar mixture is being whipped up in the stand-mixture, whisk together flour and salt in a separate bowl.
6. Once the egg-sugar mixture is ready, add the vanilla essence and whip until incorporated.
7. Add the cooled chocolate-butter to the egg-sugar mixture and mix with a ladle.
8. Fold in the flour-salt mixture gently with a rubber spatula. It is important to have a light hand here, otherwise too much gluten from the flour will be released, making the brownies harder and more like bread, rather than dense and gooey.
9. Pour the batter into the 8-inch pan lined with parchment paper. I like to make swirls on the surface of the batter, but this is completely optional 🙂
10. Bake for about 25-30 minutes (depending on your oven’s temperament) until puffed on top, and a tooth-pick stuck into the centre of the brownie comes out mostly dry, but with a few sticky crumbs.
11. Sprinkle the top of the brownies with flakes of salt. I like to use Pink Himalayan Salt for the best visual effect. You can use any salt-flakes you can get your hands on.
12. Let the brownies cool for as long as you can (you’ll probably cut off a piece a few minutes into waiting :P).

Take them out of the pan using the parchment paper over-hangs and cut them into little squares.

 

Eat them as is, or with frozen yoghurt or ice cream. I like to serve them with strawberry frozen yoghurt because the tartness compliments the brownies’ richness. Also, the light pink colour goes well with the Himalayan salt.